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SLR: 19 Miles Anacostia Riverwalk

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Cooler temperatues seem here to stay, which is shocking. I've started fielding some "when do the clocks change" emails already, and fear not we'll all get our extra hour of sleep for 8 AM starts soon enough (probably sometime in early October once long runs start being closer to 15 miles instead of 20). Now let's get into it:

The Route: This week, we'll be venturing east of the river to what I always call the most underrated place to run in DC: The Anacostia Riverwalk Loop (strava, gps, pdf) -- this time with a bit of a twist. This route will take us down through the wharf, up the west side of the trail by the Congressional Cemetery, across the Bladensburg Bridge, and down the east side of the Anacostia River to the wonderful Frederick Douglass Bridge and back to Virginia! If you've been to this one in the past and hated bushwhacking through Heritage Island, fear not. The route this time DOES NOT go around the island, instead we're tweaking how we get to the wharf a bit to add that extra little bit of mileage, so don't worry about bringing your tick repellent and hiking boots for tomorrow morning.

Want Something Longer? The farther north you run on the west side of the Anacostia trail, the more magical it becomes! The Kenliworth Aquatic Gardens are especially wonderful in the summer if anyone's in need of 22 miles (2 out, 2 back).

Need a Shorter Route? A nice way to cut this route down to around 12 is to make a modified Southeast DC Loop (basically don't cross any bridges, just follow the route until the turn off for Pennsylvania Avenue). Otherwise taking a turn at RFK and following East Capitol Street back to the Mall will get you around 14.5 miles!

Thirsty? Thanks to Sean Hicks for post run drinks this week! We've also got mid run drinks courtesy of David Webber near the Pirate Ship Playground at mile 11.5! Other than that, Anacostia is fairly bare for water, so please bring some as we're going long tomorrow. There are also fountains along the Mall near Lincoln at mile 1.7 and 16.2 in a pinch!

Need a Bathroom? There are plenty of businesses along the wharf that are good in a pinch, including a couple of CVSes around the 5K point. There are also bathrooms at the pirate ship playground at mile 11 that have been lifesavers for me in the past.

The Bunion Derby wraps up this weekend with the Steve Thompson 8K and we could still use more volunteers for the event. Get your credit out of the way now!

Happy Running!

Anna

SLR: 16 Miles Arlington Loop

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

It is Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader, here with you this week as Anna is off "biking to Pittsburgh", which I assume is a euphemism for something. I am still on the proverbial shelf but excited to be back on Saturday morning this week!

Where Are We Going This Time? This week is our love letter to Arlington's pedestrian infrastructure: the world famous Arlington Loop (strava, gps, pdf)! We'll head down the 110 trail to the Mount Vernon Trail, head past the airport and turn onto the Four Mile Run Trail, continue onto the W&OD, and then hang right at Custis and head back to the park. All in all this will be 16 miles with very few street crossings.

Shorter? Not too many ways to shorten this one since it is a hefty loop. You can shorten by around 1.5 miles by taking the Bluemont cutoff trail to Fairfax Drive and running back through Court House. Anything shorter and you are doomed to an out-and-back this week.

More? Technically, the full Arlington Loop is 18 miles, including the whole of the MVT up to Roosevelt Island: so if you are a purist, that is for you. Otherwise, it is simple to continue on the W&OD toward Falls Church for any number of miles.

Parched? Rae (and I) will be trailside at Barcroft Park, which is near the exact midpoint of the run, with mid-run drinks. Plenty of options for water on this one: a couple of fountains on the MVT, at least three along the W&OD (those within sight that I can remember, lol) and one more on Custis past the high school.

Swimming Eyeballs? The situation here is much easier than it was the last time we ran this (in the winter)...Barcroft Park has restrooms, as does Glencarlyn Park (9.5 miles, visible from the trail) and Westover Park (11.3 miles, take the left immediately after crossing under 66).

Happy Running!

Nate